Woeful Knight: An End to Innocence
by Aria Lunesta
Summary: Suzaku Kururugi's search for Zero's identity is over. Heart broken and hopes shattered, Suzaku must keep moving forward. He must LIVE ON, but only time will tell what darkness his future will hold. Set Between R1 and R2. Includes flashbacks to SuzaEuphie.
1. Zero

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Fan Fiction

Woeful Knight

Chapter 1: Capture

_September 2017 a.t.b_

_Shikine Island_

"SUZAKU!"

"LELOUCH!"

Their screams echoed throughout the cave as the former friends fired at each other. Lelouch's shot barely missed Suzaku's face, shattering Suzaku's communicator. Due to his shaking hands Suzaku's shot only grazed Lelouch's pistol, but even armed Lelouch was no match for a trained soldier. With a flying kick Suzaku knocked Lelouch to the ground and quickly disarmed him.

"Zero!" Kallen cried, running to help the man she had idolized for so long. Suzaku pointed his gun at her, stopping her in her tracks.

"It's Lelouch!" Suzaku replied as he held down a struggling Zero. "The man who used the Japanese people, who used you; you want to defend a man like that?" As he said this, Suzaku pulled the vial of liquid Sakuradite off of Lelouch's chest, removing the terrorist's last chance for escape.

Kallen only stared, still reeling internally from the recent revelation. _Lelouch Lamperouge was Zero? How was that even possible? _She felt defiled and betrayed—she had been used. Not by just any man, but by a boy she believed to be her smart but apathetic classmate. Filled with anger and sadness, Kallen ran out of the cave, abandoning the man she had once followed so faithfully.

Suzaku got up and stood over a defenseless Lelouch. Initially Lelouch looked frightened, but as Suzaku raised his gun, he smiled cruelly. Suzaku looked him in the eye. _This is not my friend_, he thought. _This is…_ "Zero…this is the end for you," he said coldly. The old Suzaku was gone; the new Suzaku stood in his place. No more was the Suzaku with the bright eyes, pure emotions, and a tender heart; his heart had hardened, and with Euphemia gone no one could melt it.

Suzaku Kururugi pulled a new communicator from his suit but continued to train his gun Lelouch. "Cecile…Zero has been captured. Send transport immediately to Shinkine Island. Make sure it's ready…we'll need to head to the Britainnian homeland immediately…yes…thank you Cecile."

After around 30 minutes, Cecile Croomy and Lloyd Asplund arrived in a transport ship. It was large battleship, and Suzaku recognized it as the Avalon, Prince Schneizel's personal ship. While he waited for the transport, Suzaku handcuffed Zero and ripped of part of Zero's cape to cover Lelouch's face and gag him. "You won't be using Geass on any of them," he said.

Cecile came out to see him when the ship had landed. She ran up to him, but when she saw the young pilot's prisoner, she stop in her tracks and gasped.

"Suzaku, is that—"

"Where's the holding cell?" interrupted Suzaku as he shoved a masked and handcuffed Zero toward the ship. His voice was hard and stern. He looked at her with solemn eyes.

There it was, Cecile thought. There's that dead eyed look he's had ever since the princess had died. In fact, his eyes seemed to look even deader than before. She hoped she was imagining things, but in her heart she knew something was wrong. She shook herself.

"It's on the lower level in the rear of the ship."

"Thank you, Cecile-san." Zero struggled violently against his bonds and tried to yell something, but Suzaku simply shoved him into the ship without a word.

Cecile silently watched him push the terrorist into the ship. She knew that she should be happy; after all, the terrorist who killed Princess Euphemia and Prince Clovis was dead. However, she could tell by watching Suzaku that something even bigger had happened. Cecile Croomy shook herself and re-boarded the ship. There was time enough for her to think about the boy later, she thought.

But deep inside she knew—after this day, nothing would ever be the same.


	2. Memories

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Fan Fiction

Woeful Knight

Chapter 2- "Memories"

**If anyone has been waiting, here's chapter two****! I hope you like my sad/sappy/depressing first fan fiction. Please review!**

**Note: the majority of this fanfic will follow the lives of Suzaku and Cecile in the time between **_**R1 **_**and **_**R2**_**. The underlined name will tell who the focus is on for the moment.**

_September 2017 a.t.b_

_En route to Britannia, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean_

**Cecile**

The door slid open, and Cecile Croomy stepped into the _Avalon's_ bridge. ASEEC's director, Lloyd Asplund, was waiting for her.

"Welcome back, Cecile~! Is our little Suzaku back and safe and sound and all that?" Lloyd said in his usual over-enthusiastic tone as he pranced up to his assistant.

Cecile sighed. _Why won't this man just grow up_, she thought to herself. _We just escaped a war zone and almost got killed by a crazy girl with a homemade nuclear bomb and he's still waltzing around like he doesn't have a care in the world? _She took a moment to compose herself.

"He fine…physically, anyway. He's currently locking away the prisoner. Lloyd's expression changed, becoming a little softer and a lot more serious. "I see…so Zero's been captured. Without its head, the snake won't survive. No, the Black Knights will disintegrate, becoming little more than an annoyance. Area 11 will return to the way it was before."

Cecile knew it shouldn't surprise her anymore, but whenever Lloyd made brilliant deductions like this it always caught her off guard. The man was a nut job, but never the less he was a genius. She nodded.

"I suppose so." They stood there in silence until Lloyd regained his usual demeanor. He gave Cecile a small stack of forms and returned to his usual hobby of annoying the crap out of the pilots. It was amazing how they kept the aircraft afloat with such an obnoxious observer. She gave the pilots an apologetic smile as she left the bridge.

As she walked through to her quarters, Cecile's thoughts returned to Suzaku. The boy had been through so much recently. Just in the course of the last year, Suzaku had been shot in back, then falsely accused of regicide, and arrested again for disregarding orders. At least from her perspective, the only bright spot in Suzaku's life seemed to have been the time he spent with his princess. His princess…

Euphemia, third princess of the Holy Britannian Empire and Sub-Viceroy of Area 11. Cecile choked back a sob as her eyes filled with tears. She had only known her a couple months, but she had grown to care for the girl. Euphemia was one of those rare girls who were beautiful both inside and out. And best of all, she was in love with Suzaku Kururugi. And though he never admitted it to her, Cecile knew that he truly loved her back. He had pledged his undying fealty to her as her knight, but he had pledged his undying love to her as Suzaku.

…But now she was gone. The memory of what was only two days ago stopped her in her tracks. Cecile knew she would never forget the sight of horrified Suzaku standing in the doorway carrying the limp body of Euphemia, both covered in blood. The doctors had tried their best to save her, but it was too late; the princess had lost too much blood. Suzaku had held her hand until the princess' heart stopped beating. It was Cecile who had to pull the boy away from the princess' lifeless body while the doctors again tried in vain to revive her. In all Cecile's years as a soldier, never had she heard more anguished cries than those that came from Suzaku that day. The boy had sobbed uncontrollably, repeating his princess' name over and over again…"Euphie…Euphie…"

Cecile leaned against the corridor wall, letting the tears flow freely down her face. It was horrible really, she thought to herself. Why did sorrow seem to follow that poor boy? Would the world allow him no happiness at all? She leaned against the wall, crying and crying until the tears finally dried.

After a few more minutes, Cecile Croomy wiped her eyes, and shivered a little. "Live on…just live on…" she repeated to herself quietly as she continued with her duties.

Little did she know what had happened just moments before in the holding cell just two levels away from where she walked…


	3. Cold Reflection

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Fan Fiction

Woeful Knight

Chapter 3- "Cold Prison"

**Thank you for your continued readership and support everyone! This next chapter takes place right after Chapter 1 and coincides with Chapter 2.**

_September 2017 a.t.b_

_En route to Britannia, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean_

**Suzaku**

"LET ME GO, DAMMIT! I HAVE TO SAVE HER; I HAVE TO—" Lelouch vi Britannia's garbled screams were cut off by a sharp blow to the backside of the head.

"Quiet, murderer," Suzaku said coldly as he pushed his hooded prisoner toward the holding cells in the hull of the _Avalon_. The ship's entrance closed behind them, and the flotation system whirred to life beneath them. Zero continued to struggle desperately against his bonds, but his grim-faced captor just pushed him forward even harder.

After several minutes of this they finally reached the holding cell where they were greeted with a solemn salute from the attending officer. At a nod from Suzaku, the soldier punched in the key code and the door whooshed open, revealing a dimly lit tiny cement cell.

Kururugi roughly shoved Zero against the floor of the cell where he landed with a harsh thud. The prisoner sat up and spat out the gag over his mouth. "SUZAKU, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD! THEY HAVE HER; THEY HAVE MY SISTER, DAMMIT! LET ME GO—" Lelouch's screams were again cut off, this time by a tranquilizer dart shot to his chest. He slumped down against the back wall.

Suzaku coolly handed the tranquilizer pistol back to the attendant. " Thank you, Officer. Please put the prisoner in a straightjacket. But speak of what you have seen to no one; Zero's identity is a para-level one secret; his face must not be revealed."

"Understood, sir," said the soldier with a salute and entered the cell. Suzaku Kururugi watched the proceedings from the other side of a one-way mirror, but they went by without a hitch. He closed his eyes for a moment before the shock of what had just occurred suddenly set in.

_My suspicions were correct…Lelouch was Zero. My friend ki—No. _Suzaku shook his head. _This was __**not**__ his friend. Lelouch vi Britannia killed his brother. He killed Shirley's father. He tried to kill me. And he killed…_

Before he could think her name, the cell door slid open. "What should I do with the prisoner's clothes, Sir Kururugi?"

Suzaku looked at the costume in the man's hands for a moment, thinking of all that had happened because of this one suit. Then he looked up. "Incinerate it, then return to your usual duties. I will guard the prisoner until our arrival in Pendragon."

When the soldier was gone, Suzaku sat down on the shallow bench opposite to holding cell and held his head in his hands. "Why Lelouch…why?" He said to himself. "How could you do this? Why would you use your accursed power on Euphie? Euphie…sweet…pure…Euphie? Euphie…" His heart burned at the thought of her, but no tears flowed to his eyes. He didn't have any tears left; he had used them all up last night at Euphemia's bedside as her life slipped away.

Suzaku couldn't believe that the bloody massacre at Mt. Fuji had only happened yesterday. It felt as if years had past by and left him with a hollow spot in his chest where his heart should have been. Today should have been a day of joy, the day that Princess Euphemia would publically renounce her claim to the Britannian throne in favor of leading the Specially Administration Zone of Japan.

And then…not even Euphie knew about the gift he had planned to give her after that. He pulled a small Japanese drawstring bag from his pocket that, until yesterday's battle, he had been keeping inside a small compartment in the Lancelot cockpit. Suzaku tipped the small bag upside down, and out fell two small silver rings. He had asked Cecile to pick them out for him during the preparations for the ceremony.

He traced the circle of each ring gently, feeling the texture in the ropelike silver band. They were promise rings—symbols of their promise to stay by each other's side no matter what. Suzaku silently pressed the rings to his lips, heart weighing heavily in his chest. His throat caught. He knew that he would never again see that sweet and beautiful smile…that happiness had been stolen from him by the one he once called a friend.

He got to his feet and checked on the prisoner—Lelouch was still unconscious. Breathing a sigh of relief, Suzaku walked down the corridor, rings still in hand, and looked out over the ocean through the windows that lined this side of the airship. Since they were flying much lower than usual to focus more of the ship's energy on speed, the boy was able to open the hatch on one of the lowest windows.

The wind blew in cold, stinging his face. It hurt at first but abated after a few moments. The boy soldier pressed his lips to the two small rings one last time and raised his hand. Then, Suzaku Kururugi, personal knight of the late Princess Euphemia li Britannia, threw those two small silver bands out into the cold ocean air. The rings glinted in the morning sun for a moment before disappearing beneath the churning Pacific waves.

_Euphemia was killed by the ways of this cruel world_, the knight thought to himself. _In order to achieve the peaceful world she dreamed of, I must cast aside my weak heart and conscience. Yes, _he thought firmly. _It is my duty to stop the conflicts in this world, even it means losing myself in the process._

**Well, then, wasn't that intense? Next chapter I believe will be the beginning of Suzaku's life as Knight of Seven. I hope you are enjoying [crying over] my fan fiction **_**Woeful Knight**_**, don't forget to subscribe and review! **


	4. The Prisoner Awakens

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Fan Fiction

Woeful Knight

Chapter 4- "Geass Activated"

**Hello, everyone! Sorry for such a long hiatus, I was finishing school, working…you know, the usually excuses. So at long last, here's the next chapter in **_**Woeful Knight**_**! Note: this chapter takes place about a half hour after Chapter 3.**

_September 2017 a.t.b_

_En route to Britannia, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean_

**Suzaku**

As Suzaku watched the tumbling waves beneath him, an officer rushed up to him. "Sir Kururugi, there is a message from Prince Schneizel waiting for you on the bridge." Suzaku saluted and hurry off to take the call.

**Cecile**

Cecile Croomy stepped into the elevator lift and pressed the button labeled "C2-Prison Floor" with one hand as she balanced a tea tray in the other. As the lift descended, Cecile thought about the events that had just transpired on Shinkine Island back in Japan. The more she thought about, the less sense it made—sure, Suzaku was angry at Zero for murdering Princess Euphemia, but why then did he look so sad as he pushed the terrorist onto the ship? And Zero himself…why did he keep yelling to Suzaku like that? Furthermore, why was Zero addressing the knight by his first name? It didn't make any sense…

The lift door opened and Cecile proceeded down the fluorescent hallway. But as the holding cell came into view, Suzaku Kururugi was nowhere to be found. She set the tea tray down with a sigh. She was about to sit down beside it when she saw the prisoner.

The prisoner was _awake._ And not just awake—a teenage boy, about the same age as Suzaku, was pulling himself up against the glass. He was shaky looking, but very much alert. Cecile jumped. Who was this strange boy? Where was Zero? She stared at the boy; he was obviously Britannian, judging by his pale skin and double-lidded eyes. The boy seemed to hear her jump, and he met her gaze with his intense purple eyes. Well, just one eye…the boy was covering his right eye.

Cecile jumped into action and grabbed a gun from where it hung on the wall nearby. She was no soldier, but she could at least try to contain the prisoner. "S-s-Stop righ—!"

The boy uncovered his right eye, and suddenly, Cecile's vision went red…

_BANG!_

A shot rang out in the corridors, awakening Cecile from some kind of stupor. Suzaku run up to her, holding a tranquilizer gun. "Cecile-san, are you are you all right?" Cecile looked round and saw the young man from before slumped on the ground in front of her.

"Wha-what….what just happened? How did he get out? What did I…" She stopped and watched as Suzaku pulled the unconscious prisoner back into the holding cell. Then she asked as calmly as she could…"Suzaku…who is he? Where's Zero?"

The young knight's expression hardened. "That _is_ Zero. And…I think he just used Geass on you."

**DUN, DUN, DUUNNN! Well, ain't this a cliffhanger. Stay tuned for chapter 5, coming soon.**


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